We All Fall Down
by gabrielleizzy45
Summary: An AU story of the life of John Smith, a famous musician, and Rose Tyler, a dancer. Life has its ups and downs and this story encompasses both as it jumps through the years. How will they deal with the unthinkable? And what is missing in both of their lives that they are desperately searching for? *Cancer is mentioned*
1. Falling Apart

**I am going to be solely working on this story and it'll be slightly different from the rest of mine. I'm not going to give away much, but I hope everyone still enjoys it! **

**The only background you need to know is that I will be using some of the story from "The Singer and the Dancer", but obviously it won't be exactly the same. Every other chapter will be from a different time period. It jumps to 2005 the next chapter and then to 2009 in chapter three, so just remember to look at the date so the story plot makes a bit more sense. (Sorry if it is confusing). **

**This is an AU story of Doctor Who with Rose Tyler and the Tenth Doctor. Rose never met the 9th Doctor and the Tenth is actually human John Smith. **

**Thanks and hope you enjoy!**

Falling Apart

June 11, 2012

"Wake up, sweetheart," murmured a quiet voice, jolting her from a comforting dream of eating an ice cream cone on a gently swaying boat.

She inwardly groaned, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to return to dreamland. To pretend that she didn't have to wake up and face her life. A life that she equally dreaded and adored. If twenty year old her had known what was to come she wondered if she would have chosen the same path. In her heart, she knew how many precious moments she had been rewarded with and those in themselves made it all worth it. But, on days like today, it was sometimes hard to remember all the happy times.

"Mmmm," she groaned, lightly swatting away the cool hand that was cupping her cheek. She heard a halfhearted chuckle only a few inches from her ear and only seconds later felt a soft brush of his lips against her clammy forehead. "Give me a minute," she croaked out, the ache in her throat coming back full force due to the sudden use of her vocal cords. As gross as it was, her throat was so raw due to how often she had been getting sick those past few days.

"Okay, love," he answered, a strange emotion she couldn't name in his voice. "I'm just going to be in the kitchen making you a cuppa if you need me," he explained as she heard his heavy footfalls leading away from the bed.

Realizing that sleeping all day unfortunately wasn't an option, she cracked one eye open. What she saw was exactly what she had expected: a rather large master bedroom with furnishings she had picked out almost five years ago. The Victorian design wasn't really her taste anymore, but they didn't have the time or energy to change anything up now.

Those thoughts awakening her further, she bit back a groan and opened both eyes, blinking as the light from the window flooded the room. It must have taken her longer than she thought to wake up because not long after her eyes adjusted he walked back into the room, a cup of tea in his hands. At seeing her awake, he forced on a smile that didn't reach his eyes. It sent shockwaves to her heart to see him trying so hard when this was her second day confined to her bed. Whenever she stood up, she became so dizzy that she couldn't even walk straight much less function normally. Plus, she had thrown up everything she had eaten not long after she forced it down. He told her that if she wasn't better by tomorrow he was going to take her to the doctor. That he didn't need two sick girls in his life right now.

"Can you sit up and drink this, sweetheart?" he asked, his voice laced with obvious concern as her glassy eyes that stood out from her pale complexion fixed on his chocolaty brown eyes. "It'll do you good," he continued to explain, sitting down next to her on the bed and helping her sit up with propped pillows.

She just nodded, taking the tea from him and taking a sip to appease him. She just wished that she could get better for him so that he didn't have to worry. Looking at him, she was once again shocked by how weary he looked. Deep circles seemed to permanently rim his eyes and an expression of worry was sketched onto his face. It hurt her to see him like this, but she knew that her face was a mirror of his.

"Thanks," she said, a half smile on her face. A few moments later, she glanced at the clock and her eyes widened in shock. "Wait, what are you doing here?" Rose asked, attempting to push herself into a higher sitting position with what little strength she had. "Shouldn't you be at the hospital right now?"

"Don't worry, love," he responded, his voice dropping along with his expression as he spoke. "My mother is up there right now and forced me to come back home and see how you were doing. She said that you were up getting sick all last night. You told me yesterday that you were getting better," he explained, concern practically dripping in his voice as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I am getting better," Rose countered, wincing as she rose her voice. "Please, _please _don't worry about me, okay?" she pleaded, taking hold of his hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "And don't stay here long unless you need to…" she explained. "I mean, I know sometimes you can't be in _that_ place," she spat out. "But I can't be there right now since I'm sick and I don't want her to be lonely and afraid."

He nodded, a response not needed. It is what was constantly on both of their minds anyway. There just simply wasn't enough time in the day anymore. There were days when the only sleep they got was a twenty minute kip on a plastic covered armchair. It was no wonder she was sick with how little time she spent taking care of herself.

"I think I'm just going to try to sleep for a few hours this morning," he explained, biting back a yawn. "My mum can stay there that long and she demands I sleep," he continued, reverting back to the informal address of his mother that he had rarely used since his childhood. "Then I'll take a quick shower and head back up there."

She nodded, understanding that he needed this. "I don't want you to get sick too," she muttered, keeping her sentences short so she didn't irritate her throat. "I better get up and go into the other room."

He just shook his head, not knowing how to articulate what he needed right now. "No, can you just stay?" he asked, his eyes looking so far beyond his years. "Please?" he pleaded again, tightening his grip on her hand.

Nodding slightly, she sat the half empty cup of tea on the bedside table, scooting down so that she was once again lying down. She didn't exactly feel like falling back to sleep, but she knew that he needed her there next to him to get any restful sleep. Letting out a breath of relief as she felt him curl up behind her and wrap his arms around her, she snuggled back deeper into his embrace. She hadn't felt this peaceful in ages and as his breath hit his neck there was only one thing missing.

"I love you so much," he breathed out, his voice hardly a whisper as he fell under sleep's spell.

She immediately shivered, a wave of happiness flooding through her as it did every time he spoke those three words. "Love you too," she responded, hoping that he heard her before he fell asleep.

As his breathing lengthened, she felt relief that he was getting the rest he so desperately needed. Except for the fact that she was wide awake and knew she couldn't sleep for hours. So, she just relished in the feel of his body so near hers. With her eyes wide open, she stared at the picture on the wall from so long ago and her mind flew back to years ago when her life was so very different.

**Sorry it is so short, but I hope you enjoyed it! **

**Let me know if you see any potential or are interested in seeing how this story continues. :) I love reviews and they really do help motivate me. **

**That being said, hope to hear from some of you.**

**Gabrielle**


	2. The Beginning

**So if some of this sounds familiar it should! Quite a bit of similarities to The Singer and the Dancer, but it'll diverge from the story quite soon. **

**Thanks for anyone who read this and I hope I can keep you enthralled! **

**I'm going to keep this short so just enjoy!**

**Also, I wouldn't mind a Beta?!**

The Beginning

March 21, 2005

Rose Tyler huffed as she fell onto her bed without bothering to take off her high heels. Her pink and fluffy mattress brought her back to years ago when she was a teenager, back when she had so many dreams. She pushed that out of her mind, trying to welcome the oblivion that came with sleep, but found it impossible. She brought her hand up to her face and let out a soft sob, trying to stay quiet so that her roommate on the other side of the thin wall wouldn't hear. It seemed as if everything was crumbling down around her and that reality had just hit. Here she was, twenty two years old, and she hadn't done _anything _with her life. Even though she had so much of her life yet, she felt stuck. Stuck in this life that she despised.

After dropping out of school when she was sixteen, she had made the incorrect decision to never go back. It was her own fault really, for trusting a guy she had only known for a few months. Afterwards, she had gone to work at a shop and, at the time, didn't think she could go any lower than that. Little did she know what was coming for her.

"Rose are you in your room?" Rose's roommate Jessica asked as she threw the door open without waiting for a response. She stood in front of Rose's bed, which was basically all the room consisted of besides a small dresser, with her hands on her hips. "Umm…I have an appointment in twenty minutes," Jessica explained, pushing her long bangs out of her eyes as she did so. "Sorry it is so last minute and all, but on the bright side it is only half an hour tonight."

"Thanks for letting me know with some more notice," Rose responded as nicely as she could, holding back a wince at last week when Jessica hadn't realized that Rose was in her bedroom until she unfortunately decided to head to the kitchen for some celery. The celery was tasty and fresh, but it wasn't worth the awkward encounter it had led to. With a grown, Rose reluctantly excavated herself from the soft bed, shaking her head in an effort to stay awake.

She had known Jessica from high school and even then they hadn't exactly been friends. They ran in two _completely _different circles, though Rose assumed their social groups had collided after she dropped out. After the unfortunate incident that left Rose penniless, Jessica had reached out to her, offering her kind words of wisdom for the situation she was accustomed to. Even after that, Rose never imagined she would be living with her right now. Especially with the circumstances that they lived in.

Taking a few moments to make sure she looked presentable, Rose turned towards the closet. She knew that she had to change, but there wasn't really that much time and her body literally ached. So, Rose just shimmied out of her costume and left in in a pile on the floor before pulling on a t-shirt dress that she hadn't worn for ages. It fit her loosely and in some part of her mind Rose realized she had lost weight. Shrugging the thought away, Rose hoped the dress was long enough without tights as she made her way into the living room where Jessica was. "Oh, you look especially nice tonight," Rose politely replied as she took in Jessica's current attire. As she waited to see if Jessica would reply, Rose pulled on her favorite blue pea coat, secretly wishing it was warm enough to go without it in the middle of March.

"Thanks, Rosie!" Jessica finally replied with a smirk as she began to get her…_supplies_ out. She walked over, her curly blonde bob bouncing in time with the clack of her stiletto heels as she did so. Turning her back to her roommate, she asked Rose to help fasten up the baby blue corset that was pulled as tight as possible to extenuate her waist. Rose immediately snapped the last button with a practiced friend and looked her roomie up and down when she turned around. It was cuter than usual, Rose could give her that. The pale corset was embezzled with a light pink bow just below her exposed cleavage, but, other than that, it was simple and classic. Her boy cut panties were the same color and design and she was now in the process of pulling up a short red dress that would barely cover up her undergarments.

Rose took Jessica's short reply and grunt of annoyance as a cue to get moving. With a groan, she realized she probably didn't have time to go back to her room and search through the mess of shoes to find her comfortable converse. As it was, she had almost forgotten that she had the red, strappy heels were on due to her feet going numb. But, of course, she could distinctly feel them again as she left the apartment with a shy smile at Jessica and looked down the never-ending stairs.

With the stairs conquered, Rose was more than a bit relieved when she hit the cool night air. She didn't necessarily have anywhere she wanted or needed to go at two in the morning on a Tuesday night. Preferably, Rose wanted to find a place to sit down and rest her feet or she would regret keeping these shoes on the next day. Disregarding common sense, she did what she always did when she had nowhere to be late at night. She made her way towards the old fashioned theatre, strangely named the Bad Wolf Theatre, that she always dreamed of performing at when she was younger and believed her dreams were within her grasp. She loved it there so much and so jealous of the few musicians who had been able to hold a concert there. It honestly wasn't even used that much anymore due to the age of the building. But, to Rose, that only made the theatre more beautiful and unique. She had found a way to sneak in ages ago and loved to just sit in the dark and take it all in. Her favorite thing about the theatre was the ornate ceiling that held its beauty even when the cream paint began to crack. And the velvety feel of the red curtains that were so heavy that she could barely move them on her own.

"Fuck!" she cursed as she tripped over a clearly unsafe crack in the sidewalk when her heel got stuck, jolting her out of her daydream of the Bad Wolf Theatre. "Shit, this will not be good!" she hissed out again as she leaned against the brick wall of the building next to her, ignoring the scratching against her shoulder even though her coat as she began to evaluate the damage. Wincing as she did so, she leaned down to examine her foot to see if she should try to put weight on it again. It certainly did not look good at all, at least at first inspection. The heel on her new shoes had broken off, leaving her with about half an inch of a jagged heel on her left shoe. Reaching out with her hand, she bit her tongue to hold back another exclamation as she winced when she poked her tender ankle. She just hoped it wasn't sprained and, with some ice and pain medicine, it would be strong enough to hold her weight. And, if that wasn't the case, she knew her boss Kelly was going to kill her. Rose seriously considered sitting down on the cold concrete before she thought better of it and just stared off into space fighting off tears, her back leaning against the brick building.

Rose braced herself against a wall and began to take off her shoe to examine it more thoroughly. She winced yet again as her fingers rubbed across her already swelling ankle. At the rate it was going it would be twice its normal size by the morning. "Excuse me, ma'am," called out an unfamiliar voice, startling Rose as she hadn't heard or noticed anyone approach. Immediately she looked down, squaring her shoulders to make herself look bigger than she actually was. She was accustomed to situation like this and hoped she could get away with ducking her head and scampering away to a public place. "Looks like you might need help," the stranger said again, the tone of his voice not as threatening as she had first assumed.

"I'm fine," Rose responded, instinctively looking the other direction as she jumped farther away from the man that was still approaching her. She was well aware of what she would look like leaning against a wall with her dress so short it couldn't be seen peeking out beyond her coat and towering high heels. Plus, she still had on her work makeup on and she _was_ loitering around a street corner after midnight.

"There's no need to run away from me," the man continued in a soothing voice, a tone she wasn't accustomed to hearing. "I just thought you looked a little frazzled over here all by yourself," the stranger explained, taking a hesitant step forwards and moving his head closer to her so he could talk quietly. "Plus, there is a guy in the alley behind you that was eyeing you and I couldn't just leave you here to fend for yourself," he finally finished, legitimate concert present in his voice.

At those words, Rose finally glanced up at the stranger. It wasn't the thug she expected, instead she just saw a tall man with rather spikey hair standing a few feet away from her. She couldn't see his face or other defining features yet due to the dark street. "My heel broke," she warily explained, not really sure if she should thank him for stopping or anything.

"You can't just take them off?" the man asked as if that was the obvious thing to do. She didn't see his face, but she could tell from his voice that he was smirking. Did he seriously have the audacity to be trying to flirt with her with now?

Not at all in the mood, Rose just shot him a harsh look she wished he could actually see as she placed her ruined heel on the ground, automatically rocking back against the wall by accident as she stumbled on her uneven heel. "No, the ground is still wet from the rain this afternoon in case you haven't noticed…" she complained, digging her fingernails into her palm to take some of her mind off the throbbing in her ankle. "And I think I twisted my ankle," she finished off lamely, her eyes tearing up against her will.

"I'm sorry," the man answered in a rushed tone, suddenly sounding awkward. Suddenly, as if he had just realized something important, he spoke up in a louder voice that was tugging at something in the back of Rose's memory. "I'm John Smith, pleasure to meet you despite the circumstances."

"Rose," she answered as a reflex before she could stop herself. "Wait a minute…" she suddenly realized what she was missing. "John Smith…you aren't…" she exclaimed, her eyes widening as she tried to get a better look at his face.

"Yeah," he responded quietly before she had a chance to see his face in the light. As he spoke, Rose finally realized why his voice sounded so familiar. Just last week, she had listened offhandedly to his radio interview during the slow afternoon at the café she worked at. "That's me," he explained with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, no other explanation needed.

Rose was shocked into silence for several moments, not knowing how to respond to that. Here in front of her stood a famous bloke and she was just Rose Tyler. She knew his story, hell, everyone must know his story by how often it had been printed on the front page of the magazines. John Smith had ridden to fame two years, literally coming from nowhere. He didn't have any connections or reason why he should have been famous. Surprisingly, he hadn't even been trying to rise to fame when it happened. He had simply recorded a song for his girlfriend and, two weeks later that song was constantly blaring on the radio. The rest was history: two number one albums and a sold out tour had kept him in the lime light since then. Rose had always cynically assumed his rather clean-cut image and backstory was just a clever ploy from the marketing personnel. That all those stories were just there to hide from the public what a bastard he really was. Well, that and to help sell more albums. In her experience, she had never met or even heard of a man who would say the things that he sung about in his songs to a women. The only situation it would even be probable was if the bloke wanted to get into her pants and then leave her once he got what he wanted. John Smith always acted as if _he_ was the one who wanted a relationship and that's what made him unique from the other artists. and she hadn't ever heard of him dating anyone. It was, as he was always quoted to have said, just him and his guitar. "Is this a prank or something?" she asked, not imagining a way that it could be seriously happening.

"Why would I prank you?" John asked in a teasing voice, but the question in it was evident as well. By now Rose had involuntarily moved towards him, more just to hear him than anything else. And perhaps it was a little bit the fact that she was drawn to him. "So, Rose, want to come with me while I figure out how to fix your shoe and ankle dilemma," John continued when it became clear that Rose wasn't going to answer. She could only stare stupidly up at him, wondering what he could possibly do to help. "After all, I refuse to leave you here all by yourself," John finished, finality in his tone that he wasn't going to leave her here.

"Okay," Rose responded. Knowing they shouldn't really stand around in the street any longer, Rose limped over to him as best as she could.

John walked up to her as well and hesitantly wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. Rose immediately flinched away from his touch and stumbled forwards a bit, a curse slipping out of her lips. She felt her face heat up at her clumsiness in front of a famous bloke. And if her ankle wasn't twisted before, it definitely was now. Rose bit her tongue, unconsciously leaning back to brace herself against John's chest. "Can I pick you up?" John asked. "It would be a much more efficient way and I really don't want you to hurt yourself any more than you already have."

Apparently John wasn't waiting for an answer because he automatically scooped her up into her arms. Rose let out a squeak of surprise at the sudden shift. She normally would have protested, but her ankle wasn't really going to hold her weight at the moment and she felt a migraine coming on. "Ummm…" Rose began to say, biting her lip as she thought of what to say in conversation with this practical stranger carrying her down the street. _John Smith_ had just picked her up. "I don't really have anywhere to go…"

"Oh, I didn't think," John mumbled, looking the other direction as an awkward silence developed. Not answering again, he began to walk down the street even farther away from where she lived.

"I have a flat," Rose said quickly. The last thing she wanted this rich guy to believe that she didn't have a place to live. Even worse than being a floosy was being a homeless floosy. "It's just that my roommate has a…guy…over," she lamely finished.

"Thin walls, eh?" John responded with his voice full of humor. It sure did help the awkward moment that he was making a joke about this.

"Where are you taking me?" Rose asked to change the topic. She really didn't mind being in the presence of him, but she still needed to keep her head on straight. "I mean, for all I know you could be a secret rapist!" she teased with a tongue in cheek smile.

John just let out an adorable chuckle that Rose knew she would have to commit to memory. "There is this old diner I used to hang out at when I was in school," he explained, motioning his chin slightly to the right in the direction it was at. "They have the best apple pie in London."

"Ah," Rose responded with a curt nod. She had already caught a glimpse of a 50's style diner a few blocks away. In the past, she was sure that she had walked past the building, but she had never been inside or had a conscious thought about it. "Would have taken you more of a caviar man or something," Rose joked, not even entirely sure of what caviar actually was.

"Nah, I'd rather go for a banana," he answered, looking down at Rose with a smirk. "Bananas are good, Rose," he finished.

Rose was silent for a moment as she watched the diner come closer. He seemed so much more down to earth in the few minutes she had known him and the fact that he was famous seemed surprising every time she thought about it. "Have you ever had these banana chips?" she asked, licking her lips at the memory of the sweet and salty treat.

"Banana _chips?_" John asked, surprise coloring his tone. "Well they sound unappealing, but I suppose I'd have to give them a chance."

"Oh," Rose exclaimed, letting out a short giggle at his tone. "I don't mean chips like _chips_. I mean chips like crisps," she emphasized, furrowing her eyes as she tried to think of an intelligent description. "They're sort of like dried bananas."

"Well, why would they ruin such a perfectly fine fruit," John exclaimed, mocking horror. "I bet they even take out all the nutritional value. Probably isn't even any potassium left in the poor things."

The sudden sound of the diner bell jingling as he opened the door surprising her, she hadn't realized they had walked that far yet. She supposed she had been too caught up in their silly conversation. "This is nice," she muttered to be polite, her eyes roving around the small diner. It certainly wasn't the worst establishment she had been in but it wasn't anywhere near the best either. The paint seemed to be chipping off of the walls and a strange odor she couldn't place filled the whole area. All of the tables and chairs looked rather old with bright blue tablecloths. There seemed to be a clock on every available area on the wall and they were all set to different times with no indication as to why. The strangest of all was the counter that looked like a console to some machine. Except that none of the levers and switches didn't match up in the slightest. And the lighting inside the diner had a strange orange glow about it. Well, she could say this place had charm.

"It's called the TARDIS," John exclaimed, jerking his head towards the blue sign behind the counter. At the sound of the bell, a redheaded woman whose head had been resting against the counter asleep jerked awake with a squeak. "Donna, nice to see you working hard," he said to the woman, a smirk on his face as he addressed the woman more casually than she had expected him to. Obviously he was more acquainted with the place than she thought.

"I didn't expect to see you here tonight, John," Donna replied with a sarcastic eye roll before her gaze fixed on Rose. She immediately began to feel self-conscious. After all, she barely knew this famous guy and he had just carried her into a restaurant he was obviously well acquainted with. Plus, although she was studying the counter and trying to figure out why the levers were there, she was fairly certain that John was staring at her. "Oi, spaceman!" Donna shouted out, causing Rose to jerk her eyes over to the redhead. "What'd you do, abduct her or something?"

"No," Rose quickly answered, turning her gaze to John as far as she could a moment later. "Can you maybe put me down?" she questioned, feeling quite awkward as it was.

Thankfully, John rather awkwardly sat her down on a barstool smack dab in front of Donna. She took a moment to reposition herself, but when she did get comfortable John sat down next to her and was clearly trying to have a conversation with Donna through hand gestures and facial expressions.

Upon noticing Rose's attention, both individuals shrunk back a bit embarrassed that they had been caught. John then spoke up, breaking the silence in the room. "This is an old _friend_," he explained, smirking as he spoke the last word. "Donna Noble," he finished as Rose sent Donna a shy smile, suddenly wishing she had washed off some of her heavy makeup. "And Donna this is Rose..." John began, suddenly lost for words, his mouth slightly gaping open. "Rose…"

"Tyler," she finally finished, realizing she had neglected telling him her last name. "Rose Tyler."

"Rose Tyler," John suddenly spoke up, clicking her name off her tongue with a crazy smile on his face.

Unable to resist herself, Rose returned a toothy grin right back at him.

**Don't worry, next chapter it'll be back to the future once again! **

**Does anyone have any ideas about what's going on in the future?! I don't think I gave that much away yet...but I'm curious! **

**PLEASE help me out and review! Any old review will do as long as it comes from the heart! :)**

**Much love,**

**Gabrielle**


	3. The Failed Date

**Hello all of you beautiful people! **

**So, make sure you know where the date is in the scheme of the other chapters. Almost eight years after the last chapter but four months before chapter one! This will all make more sense later! :)**

**ENJOY and thanks to all who followed and reviewed!**

The Failed Date

February 14, 2012

In some small corner of her mind, Rose knew she should be excited, but something was gnawing away at her. It was going to be her seventh Valentine's Day with the love of her life, but the smile she had on her face seemed fake.

"Elizabeth Jacqueline Smith!" she heard her husband call out a few doors down the hall. No doubt that Lizzie was being difficult about cleaning up her toys in her playroom yet _again._ It happened more often than she wanted to admit and it led to many fights in their household. John always wanted to coddle their daughter, saying that she was his little angel and she needed to know that. To an extent, Rose agreed with him. After all, they both wanted their Lizzie to have a better childhood than either of them had. But sometimes it still surprised her how much money John, well she supposed it was theirs now, had at his disposal to spend on their daughter. The last thing Rose wanted was for Lizzie to grow up to feel she was entitled to certain things because her parents happened to have money.

Glancing in the mirror and figuring her makeup was acceptable for the evening, Rose groaned in annoyance. She had rarely had time since her daughter was born a little over three years ago to get all primped up as she used to. Most of the time she didn't mind, but she had wanted to put on a little bit more than her usual makeup tonight. Pushing those thoughts away, Rose headed out into the hallway without really noticing the master bedroom as she walked through it.

"What's wrong, Lizzie?" she asked with a bright smile as she stepped into the bright blue playroom that was occupied by her husband and daughter.

Immediately Lizzie looked up, her bottom lip sticking out when she saw her mother. Her light blonde curls bounced a bit as her head snapped up. Lizzie's chocolate brown eyes that seemed practically identical to her fathers settled on Rose and she scowled, the expression contradicting her angel like appearance. "Mummy, dada won't play!" Lizzie whined, her lips trembling.

Glancing over at John, Rose had to stifle a giggle. John already had a bowl as a makeshift hat sitting on top of his head and his exasperated expression contradicted everything about this situation. He was already dressed up in his tux, but clearly he would have to restyle his hair again once the bowl was back in the kitchen where it belonged. God forbid his hair was flat and not styled to perfection like it usually was. And, if he kept on sitting cross legged like that on top of a pile of doll clothes, his tux would begin to look wrinkled.

Despite her words, Lizzie backed up a bit and heavily plopped down on John's lap. She had an odd expression she had been wearing lately on her face and she looked like she was about to start bawling. It physically hurt Rose to see her daughter like this so, with a shared look with John, she kneeled down in front of Lizzie so they were at eye level. "Lizzie, daddy has been playing with you most of the afternoon, hasn't he?" Rose asked in a stern voice, only continuing when the little girl nodded. "And you know you get to play with Aunt Donna tonight because mummy and daddy won't be home?"

"We can finish up our princess game tomorrow, can't we, sweetheart?" John added on, planting a kiss on top of her messy curls.

"No!" Lizzie replied, crossing her arms in defiance. At seeing that neither of her parents were going to relent, Lizzie scrunched her face up into a familiar expression. How she looked when she was about to throw a fit that would take her hours to calm her down from.

Rose held back a groan at her daughter's reply. She had hoped that since Lizzie was out of her terrible twos, she would have outgrown her use of the word no. Apparently that was not the case. She shared a looked at John and he shrugged his shoulders, clearly not in the mood for this. However, when she cocked an eyebrow in a way that she knew John would interpret as it being time to take charge unless he wanted to deal with her wrath later.

"Okay, that's it," John concluded, a tone of finality in his voice. As he spoke, he stood up and balanced a surprisingly quiet Lizzie on his hip. "You are going to put on this lovely hat," John added in a softer tone, quickly shucking off the tin bowl and balancing it on Emma's small head. "And we are going to go downstairs and have a little discussion while mummy finishes getting ready."

With a relieved smile at her little family, Rose watched them walk away and stood still until she heard John's footsteps on the stairs. Shaking her head, she quickly picked up a few toys that were scattered on the floor before heading back to get dressed. She always felt slightly guilty leaving Lizzie and tonight was no exception even though she was sure to enjoy herself with Donna. Even though she was excited to get out with John. They were going to some posh new restaurant that John had been saying had a banana dessert he just _needed _to try. She didn't usually enjoy those kind of places, but as the years went by she minded them less and less. Perhaps she really was starting to grow up. After dinner they were going to the theatre to see a Shakespeare play and were going to spend the night in a hotel downtown London.

Rose let out a breath of relief when she saw herself ready in the mirror. She supposed she was entitled to think that she looked good. Her hair was half up in an elaborate bun and the rest was down and curled. Although she wasn't so heavy handed with her makeup as she had been in the past, she still had it in her to draw on a smoky eye now and again. But her favorite was the dress. It was royal blue and had thick straps with a top bodice that looked similar to those of a 50s housewife. But her favorite part of it was how the bottom stopped a few inches above her knees and was cut so that it seemed to spin and flow around her every time that she walked.

With a final smile at the mirror, Rose headed out of the bedroom and down the stairs, excited for the night and the rest of her life.

...

The sharp shrill of a ringing phone caused Rose to practically jump in surprise. On the balcony of the theatre in the middle of a beautiful soliloquy, the harsh noise reverberated around the area. But it was only when she noticed several stares her direction and a sharp jab at her ribs from John's elbow for her to realize that it was her phone that was ringing. She glanced over at her husband's barely contained smirk before quickly getting up and scampering out of the theatre to answer her phone and ask them why in the hell they would be calling her right now.

"Donna, what's wrong?" Rose asked as she answered her phone a moment after seeing who it was on the caller ID and she was in a quiet place. Donna had said she wouldn't bother them and Rose's mind was already coming up with terrible scenarios. "Why are you calling?"

"_Hello to you too,"_ Donna snapped back, clearly rolling her eyes even though the phone. "_And I know I said I wouldn't call, but I've never seen Liz like this."_

"Is she sick or just being a brat?" Rose questioned, leaning against a pillar and eying a man in a tux who had just looked in her direction. The last thing she wanted right now was unwanted attention. "John said he gave her some chocolate before we left maybe she's just hyper," she guessed, sure that wouldn't be the reason Donna was calling. She knew how to deal with her goddaughter when she was being difficult.

"_She had been quiet all night, unnervingly so,"_ Donna explained. Rose thought back, perhaps thinking the redhead was right. Lizzie was usually a bundle of energy, but lately she had been falling asleep early and preferring to be carried instead of walking. Just the other day she had fallen asleep in the middle of dinner. _"But then all of a sudden she just started asking for the two of you and didn't want anything to do with me. She's been crying for almost an hour nonstop and it's starting to worry me."_

Gulping, Rose closed her eyes for a moment. She figured her daughter must just be overtired and at the stage when she didn't want to be away from her parents. However, something deep inside of told her that wasn't the whole story. "Did you get her to eat dinner?" Rose asked, trying to decipher what was wrong. When Donna quickly responded that she had picked at it, Rose breathed out through her nose before speaking again. "Is she still crying now or is she asleep?"

"_Lizzie is just lying on the couch," _Donna explained, pausing a moment before speaking up again. "_Crying silently. I mean children cry because they want attention. 'Cause they're hurt or afraid. When they cry silently it's 'cause they just can't stop."_

Rose blinked back tears, the truth behind Donna's words hitting her. Before she had a chance to respond, she felt a familiar hand touch her shoulder. She breathed a sigh of relief; it was like he always knew when he needed her. The last thing she wanted was for him to leave the theatre in the middle of the play, but at the rate things were going right now it didn't sound like they were going to stay until the end. "Hey, can you talk to John for a moment?" Rose asked Donna, handing her cell phone to her husband and quickly walking to the bathroom to calm down.

By the time she had returned, John had already hung up the phone and was holding her coat over his arm. She couldn't help but feel relieved that they were leaving. It wasn't like she could enjoy anything after what Donna had said about Lizzie and she was sure John felt the same way.

"Are we going home?" Rose asked, relieved when John just nodded in reply. "I'm sorry, I know you were excited to see this," Rose finished, gesturing with her hand back at the doors to the theatre. It really wasn't as often as it should be when they got to go out alone like they used to.

"Oh, it'll play again," John answered confidently. "It's fine really, we were out until like ten," John said as he checked his watch before extending his hand out to her.

Without a second, she grasped it and it felt _right _like it had for years. Letting him lead her as she tried to think to avoid potholes in the road so she didn't get her heels stuck and hurt herself, Rose listened to him ramble about some political conflict she wasn't aware of. That was just like him to spew out information like a machine when he was nervous.

It was like that the entire ride home. With Rose clutching John's hand tightly, she sat close next to him and listened to his soothing voice, nodding and making a random comment when necessary. Although it was only a half hour drive time seemed to drag on and near the end Rose had her head rested against John's shoulder, just listening to him breathing.

By the time they got to their house, Rose could make out Donna's silhouette in the window watching their approach. With a sigh of relief, Rose realized that at least Lizzie was letting Donna hold her now.

Before Donna had even opened the door, Rose was already blurting out, "Sorry we took so long to get here, how's Lizzie?"

"She fell asleep," Donna explained in a quiet voice as she followed the couple deeper into the house. "But it's been off and on," she continued, and, as if to emphasize her point, Lizzie shifted in her arms and lifted her hair covered with matted curls and looked at her father with bleary eyes.

"Hey," John crooned, easily transferring Lizzie into his arms, bouncing her on his hip in an attempt to get a look of recognition in her eyes. However, that only accomplished in causing her to let out a piercing scream. From the look on Donna's face, that is what she had been dealing with all night.

So, while John carried Lizzie up the stairs to see if he could get her to stop crying, or more accurately, screaming, Rose turned towards Donna with wide eyes. "Thank you so much for calling," Rose breathed out, kicking off her heels and running her hands through her messy hairdo. "You can head home if you want to now," she finished, not really in the mood to start a conversation when she would much rather be trying to comfort her daughter.

It was only a few minutes later when Rose found herself upstairs in their bedroom, where Lizzie was lying on the middle of the bed curled up into a ball. Well, at least she was quiet now. Though, from the expression on John's face, maybe that wasn't it.

"She won't talk much," John sighed, exasperatedly running his hands through his spiky locks. "But she keeps on saying her head hurts, but refuses to open her mouth to take anything."

Pursing her lips, Rose sat down on the bed next to her daughter and placed a hand on her forehead, surprised that she didn't have the slightest fever. Sure, Lizzie had headaches in the past, but she never complained this much or refused to take her medicine. "You don't want to move?" Rose asked Lizzie, noticing that the little girl had barely reacted to her presence. True to her actions, Lizzie just shook her head slightly and then grimaced at the movement that aggravated her headache. "Okay, mummy will be back in a second," Rose crooned, kissing her cheek before getting up and heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

So, not long before eleven on Valentine's Day, Rose and John ended up sitting in bed next to their daughter who was whimpering in a way that broke her heart.

Kissing John for an infuriatingly short moment, Rose pulled away and laid down next to Lizzie, staring straight at her with no idea what she could do to help her.

What a way to spend Valentine's Day. But, as it was, Rose wouldn't be anywhere else as she felt John reach for her hand as Lizzie finally fell into a restless sleep.

**Is this chapter ominous or am I just messing with you guys? Any guesses at all as to why Lizzie is so upset? And what's with the dramatic change in how she was acting? **

**Also, adorable...I played with little kids all morning and just...I think I made a few little friends. :)**

**Please make sure to review and follow because I really do appreciate it! If you review, you may just give me a wonderful idea to include in this story, ask an important question or guess something exactly right as I was planning it, or just make my day!**

**I love you all and hope to hear from you,**

**Gabrielle**


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